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Friday, January 6, 2012

I think it’s fair to say that in the past three years we have seen a social media explosion:

You must be on Facebook to connect with family and friends, share photos, and stay in touch with classmates.

If you’re in business, a Facebook fan page is a must.

Blogs and micro-blogs (including Twitter) are the place to find and share information about topics you care about.

Anybody who is serious about a career is on Linked In.

And lately it seems that just about every group is building some kind of online community hub with forums, video, and even more information.

Whew! That’s a lot of information to absorb and respond to. Our online lives are already fragmented and time-constrained. And in 2011 there was a new kid in town, Google+.

Google used the same approach to launch it’s “plus” as it did with gmail, allowing only those who were invited to participate in the first round.
When I received my invitation, I was excited to join Google+. I set up my profile and found a few people to add to circles. Now, a few short months later, the thrill is gone. I don’t pay attention to +1’s. I have some people following me (a pure mystery, as I am not active there).

So why have I lost interest? I am simply out of bandwidth. For me, plus has become a minus.

There’s not an unlimited amount of online currency. We can each only absorb so much. And wooing users away from their existing online social structures is a much different game than switching a use from aol mail to gmail. Whether you have just 9 twitter followers or 900, or 9000, the group you have today is established where you are today.

I'm getting dizzy with all the social media. I keep getting Linked In invites. I started an account but haven't "friended" (or whatever) anyone (I'm ignoring people who friend me). I've got a Google+ account but haven't done anything with it (except for accepting people who friend me).

It all comes down to what I want to do with my time. And I want to write. I can't do that if I spend all my time on the different social media platforms.

I joined Facebook long after the rest of my family did and I've left it a couple of times since. Use it mainly for family, friends, and some work altered stuff (more old workmates than current). Still hanging in there though right now.

I've not bothered with twitter for a few months now, pretty much lost interest.

I deleted my Linked In account, nothing but spam.

I do blog quite a bit though, I have a couple of blogs, one random rubbish that gets update pretty often (unless I have a dry spell), the other is a 'professional blog' that gets updated from time to time with things related to stuff I am working on or interested in that relates to work (for the most part).

I've also got a youtube account and post videos on there from time to time but not very often.

I've also got a web site I run (from a server at home) for my car related interests. It's more like a glorified blog than anything but I post car related stuff on there and maintain a diary (that really is like a blog!).Also, car related I am pretty active on a car related forum dedicated to my hobby car and have met a lot of people through that.

I also follow a couple of blogs (this one being one of them!) but for the most part I can only consume so much information. I reply on the BBC news web site mostly for news (being an ex Brit!).

As for Google+, no interest. FB works fie, no need for just another distraction. I tend to use the stuff above and I'm not in a hurry to add more noise to my life.

Other Places to Find Me

If it's about corporate culture, benefits, or women's issues, I have an opinion and we'll discuss it here.

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